


Aftershot

by Madeofsketch



Category: OneShot (Video Game)
Genre: (I'll add more tags as the story goes on), (Most of this story is headcanon based so my apologies), Alternate Universe, New area, Niko has light abilities, takes place a year after the sun returns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-09-28 03:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10067777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madeofsketch/pseuds/Madeofsketch
Summary: What happens after the sun returns to the world? Niko finds that they know little about their new home. With the help of their friends, they'll search for forgotten lands and find out the truth about the world. Some people aren't meant to be trusted and aren't what they seem.





	1. Prolouge

__

_ Well….You did it… _

_ You failed…. _

_ Your mission was to send Niko home… _

_ Did you not care about them…? _

_ Was abandoning them in this dying world really worth it…? _

_ Did you really think there was a chance to save this world even with the sun back…..? _

_ You're only prolonging the inevitable… _

_ Sooner or later this world will die…..and now...Niko will die along with it… _

_ I hope your happy….. _

_ I may not be able to destroy this world as easily now that the sun is back…. _

_..but one way or another…...they will all perish….  _


	2. Learning More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my first fanfic on this site. I have written things before but I'm not proud of them.  
> Huge shout out to a friend of mine who helped put this story together! They do work here too so go check them out!   
> As I said before this story is headcanon heavy so my apologies if some elements don't make sense. Anyway please enjoy!

Light.  
It's been many years since the sun went out. It took years to adjust to the cold, dim world. As time went on, the world slowly started to lose faith in the sun ever returning. Patiently waited for their demise. But hope was restored, even for the coldest of hearts. Who would’ve thought a young child could make such a brave sacrifice? It's been a year since the sun's rays shined on the land once again. Things quickly changed for the good. Energy sources were restored, People weren’t as overworked, and in even in an unexpected turn of events, the squares had slowly begun to disappear, and reappeared at even slower rates. Yes, they’re still a major problem, but scientist and researchers have started to study the sudden change. 

However, even with the world now full of life, one soul remained dimmed. The savior, bringing back the sun, resulted in them being forced to stay in the world. It was a painful process for them to adjust. With doing such a great impact on the world they were given an apartment in the refuge. This gave them the chance to learn how to be independent. They were able to make friends with most of the citizens, though most of the time they were treated as an important individual, much to their dismay. Even after a year of adjusting, Niko still knew little of the world. And with the God no longer in contact with them, it was never easy to understand things. If it wasn't weird language spoken from passersby it would be the scientist mentioning important people of the past and important points of history.

Seeing as how they would be living here, they might as well try to learn about the world’s past, present and future. And so they did.

Strolling down the busy streets of the refuge, Niko decided to finally talk to the head librarian, George and ask for help learning about the world, at least if she was willing to accept their offer. Crossing the bridge and glancing at the pink hued ocean, they soon entered the library filled with object heads and humans, either studying, investing in a good book or finishing off their cup of coffee. Niko made their way up to the front desk to speak to the robot in charge of the library.  
“Hello person, how may I assist you?”  
“Hello, may I speak to George?”  
“She is busy in her study, would you like me to call her?”   
“No! That won’t be necessary!!” Niko exclaimed, trying to avoid the embarrassingly long phone call that may ensue, “I have a library card, I’d rather go to her myself.”  
“Very well.” After scanning the card and doing some facial recognition, they allowed Niko to pass.  
“Thank you.” They said as the walked up the stairs.

They found themself in the familiar hallway and proceeded to knock on the study’s door.  
There was a sound of a loud crash and a loud aggravated scream, causing Niko to press their ears against the door and hear if the librarian was hurt. After some mumbling and moving, the door opened.  
“Can’t a girl work in pe-”  
The die lady was greeted to the familiar face of the savior.  
“Oh Niko! I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you.”  
“It’s alright.” Niko reassured.  
“Oh, please come in!” George said as they invited them in.  
As Niko stepped in they found the source of the loud crash. The floor was covered in books and paper, seeming as if they were stacked.  
“Uh, please excuse the mess. It's been a rough week.”  
“It’s okay, um, did I cause this?” they asked, a hint of guilt in their voice.  
“Oh don’t worry about it. It happens all the time.” She answered as she proceeded to pick up the books. “I was going to place them back on the shelves later, but no better time than the present.”   
Niko then followed suit and picked up as many books as they could.  
“Uh, where do these go?”   
“Bottom shelf on your left.”  
Niko placed them as best as they could. While walking back they nearly stepped on another book. “Oh hey, you forgot this.” They then bent down and picked up the book and gave it to George.   
“Thank you.” She said as she placed it on the shelf. “So are you here to keep me company or do you need help with something?” she asked as she made her way to her desk.  
“Actually, I was wondering….if it’s not too much trouble...could you help me learn about the world?”

George paused before turning to Niko, “....What do you mean by ‘help you learn about the world?’”  
“I mean like, help me understand everything. Like what’s the culture or how was this place made or what's that weird language I hear some people speak? I know it's been a year and I should know at least something about the world, but I’m curious, this is my new home now after all…”  
She hesitated, putting her finger under her “chin”. “I suppose it would be necessary for you to have a some knowledge of this world.”   
After what felt like a minute of her pondering, she finally said, “Follow me.” She then walked over to a section of the study and proceeded to pull out a few books. Niko was only two steps behind her.  
After picking out 5 books, she then gave them to Niko, “You can read these. Their very factual about the world’s history.”   
Niko examined the given stack, most of the books were old journals while the others looked like your typical history book. “Thanks. Uh...where can I sit to read?”  
“Oh, right this way.” She then lead them to a sitting area. “Here should be comfortable. Let me know if you need anything.” She then left them to their studying.   
Niko then settled in a desk with a lamp and placed the stack of books on the desk. They started with a red book titled “Phosphor”.

Inside it told about the phosphor in the barrens and the person who discovered crystal phosphor. 

'Christopher Fleming was, at the time, a miner in training. He had an understanding of how phosphor worked, with the sun’s light causing an illuminating reaction in the shrimps’ DNA. He soon invented the phosphorous material theory, which helped mainstream the use of phosphor as a light source. In 1X77, Christopher, while mining, noticed a certain crystal glowed after being exposed to light for a long period of time. After some research, he concluded that this crystal had phosphorous properties. This was the discovery of the phosphor crystal.’

Niko then closed the book, seeing as the rest was about the poisonous gas in the barrens. “I’ll finish this later.”  
The next book they opened was titled “The Great Divide”.In it, the book talked about what's beyond the barrens’ large abyss. 

'The Yonder and the Barrens were once connected. However, due to the up rise of mining in the barrens, an abyss was formed over time dividing the areas. The anomaly worsened the abyss’ condition.  
This area of the world was very cold and distant towards the other lands, especially towards The Barrens and The Refuge. This area is filled with yellow phosphor and is known to be the brightest area in the world.  
Most of the world's diplomats and governors lived in the area.’

The savior’s eyes soon grew heavy, they struggled to keep eyes open. Why did they feel so sleepy all of the sudden?

‘The Yonder is home to thousands of people. But due to an anomaly attack, destroying most of the land, it was removed from the map. It is known as the Forgotten Land’ 

They began to nod forward. They then started to yawn. They thought perhaps the book was boring, when the truth was that they actually found it to be quite interesting.

'This is also where most yellow phosphor comes from. However, due to the yonder's laws and the land being so distant and hard to find, yellow phosphor is very rare. The chances of getting an item with yellow phosphor is 1 to 1000.  
As a prophecy says, “Once the savior returns the sun, they will be destined to-’

Sleep took over Niko’s body, and like a light, their head met the desk, and they instantly went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to critique me!


	3. The Prophecy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, this one's a shitty one...

The ocean was such a beautiful sight. Nothing but blue for miles. Water at such a comforting temperature. Except, something felt wrong..  
The savior shouldn't be here.  
They laid peacefully, eyes closed,on nothing but a plank of wood, somehow supporting their weight.  
A wave splashed against them causing them to open their eyes. They sleepily rubbed their eyes as they sat up, and took in their surroundings.  
Their heart stopped. Nothing for miles but ocean.  
What made it worse? They can't swim.

Frantically gripping onto the only thing keeping them afloat, they called out. “H-hello?! Anyone!!! George, help!! I can't swim!!”  
And like magic words, the plank tipped over.  
Splash!  
Niko immediately went into panic mode, splashing everywhere, desperately trying to find the plank. It's like it had disappeared from existence.  
“PLEASE SOMEONE!! HELP ME!!”  
Niko soon started to get tired. They begged themselves to try and keep themself from going under. But they couldn't take it anymore, soon their head went under and they floated slowly down into the deep.  
Nothing but black.

Their throat tightened, eyes growing heavy. They weakly reached out to the surface, hoping someone would reach out for them.  
A voice called out to them. It was almost soothing.  
“Niko…..niko”  
A light, brighter than the sun, filled the Niko’s vision. They felt a hand on their shoulder and in a flash…

“Niko!”  
The savior jolted up from where they laid, “Huh?! What happened?!”  
They then noticed the die lady standing over them, hand on their shoulder. “Sorry, I saw that you fell asleep and I left you there to rest but then you started muttering and crying so uh…. I woke you up.”  
Niko then felt their face and noticed the fresh streaks of tears.  
“Are you ok?” George worriedly asked.  
There was a pause, but soon they answered, “Yeah, I think so….. it's just, my dream wasn't very sad …”  
“Oh!....do you want to talk about it…?” She tried.  
“Well, all that happened was, I was in the middle of the ocean and I sorta drowned. But there was this light...I don't know…”  
“Maybe your tears were from fear.”  
“Maybe….” 

Something still felt off though, wouldn't they have cried in their dream? They sighed, they were just relieved they were back on land.  
They yawned. “Excuse me. What time is it…?”  
“Closing time, actually. I should go make sure that everything is fine downstairs…” George then started to leave.  
“Closing time?!” Niko immediately jumped up and ran towards the window.  
Light had already seeped away from the city.  
Late night.

“I haven't finished reading…”  
George then thought. “You can stay over the night if you’d like. It's not a problem.”  
They turned to her in shock.  
“Really?!” They then rethought what they said, “I mean, I don't wanna impose…”  
“No! It's really not a problem! I understand you want to learn a lot, I want to be there to help you.”  
Niko smiled, “Thank you!”  
George then headed for the door “No problem. I’ll be right back, I got to take care of closing up downstairs.” With that, the door closed.

Niko then walked back to their desk. Maybe now they can finish where they left off.  
As they sat down, they noticed it was too dark to read. They reached out for lamp, only to find they couldn't find the switch.  
They tried pressing and pulling everything on it. “What kind of lamp doesn't have a switch?”  
Getting impatient, they lifted the lamp to see if the switch was somehow on the bottom.  
In an instant, they felt something warm glow in their heart and course through their body into their hands. A small shock jolted through their hands.  
Abruptly setting it back down, they flung their hands back.  
“Ow!! Is it broken or somethi-”  
Looking at their hands, their eyes widened in disbelief. A soft yellow glow emitted from their palms as if it were fire. Glancing up at the lamp, they froze. The whole lamp glowed from the base to the finial the exact same colour.

An entire minute passed before Niko’s senses came back to them. With a loud yelp, they immediately jumped from their seat in shock. So much so that they ended up falling over, landing on the ground with a thud. They jumped up, frantically flashing their hands trying to get the glowing to stop.  
That only made the situation worse..  
The glowing became stronger, soon there was a ball of light in their palms. “Stop!! Get off me!!!” They yelled.  
The light then glowed so bright it could blind anyone who dared to stare at it. Without a warning, it blasted out of Niko’s hands with such momentum that it flung them backwards.  
The light hit the nearby bookshelf. Books tumbling over. 

Niko slowly sat up from their fall, rubbing the back of their head. They winced at the damage that was made. George was not gonna like this…  
They glanced up at the bookshelf that took damage and their irises shrunk to the size of pins.  
The whole bookshelf and remaining books glowed a bright yellow. Even the books nearby had a aura to them.  
It was a dream. They had to be still dreaming. None of this could ever be real.

The sound of the door opening snapped them out of their gaze.  
“Honestly, why do people feel the need to loiter?” George had returned and she did not sound pleased.  
“Niko, do you need anything? I was thinking of ordering take-”  
As she stepped in, she froze at the mess before her. “Eyes” slowly moving from left to right and then finally landing on the culprit.  
All she did was stare in sheer terror for a good minute. Finally snapping back to the reality of the situation she ran over to the seemingly injured savior,  
“What happened?! Are you okay?!” she asked checking for any injuries.  
Slowly getting up with the help of the librarian they started with “I think so, I just bumped my head…” They walked slowly towards the glowing bookshelf, fingers slowly reaching out towards it. “You…..you see it too right…?” they slowly turned to George.  
She walked towards them, “Yes. What happened, where did all this yellow phosphor come from?”  
“It’s not yellow phosphor, well I don't think it is...you’ll never believe me when I tell you what happened.”  
“Niko, please. I’ve lived for 5 years without the sun and seen the world slowly fall apart with weird squares. Nothing can surprise me at this point.”

They hesitated but sighed. “Okay, I tried turning on the lamp and some weird glowy stuff came out of my hands and then it it just blasted out of my hands and this happened..” They said as they pointed to the bookshelf.

George stared at them, “Okay, I was wrong something can surprise me after all…”  
“I know it sounds crazy, but that's what really happened.” They said trying to pick up a fallen book. This resulted in them accidentally shooting a beam of light out of there hand. Both jumped back in the process.  
“See?! It won’t stop!” They exclaimed, fisting their hands, hoping the light would stop.  
George, coming to terms to the situation, immediately thought of something to help the distressed child, “Uh...stay right here, I think I have something that can help you.” With that, they ran off, slamming the door in the process. 

 

After two minutes of waiting for the librarian’s return, the sound of the door opening finally rang through the archives. George returned with a pair of oven mitts in her hands, “Here, try these.”  
Niko gladly slipped the mitts onto their hands. After a few seconds of nothing, the mitts slowly began to glow the same yellow. At least the blasting stopped. “Sorry about the mittens…” they nervously said.  
“Oh that's alright, I never really used them anyway. Are you okay now?”  
“Yeah, I think so.” They then glanced at the mess that they caused.  
“...I should probably-”  
They reached out to pick up a nearby book.  
“Oh no! That’s alright, I’ll clean up.” She stopped them, knowing they may cause an even bigger mess than they already made.  
“Are you sure? It is my fault..”  
“Yes, I’m sure.” She paused, her tone changed into a more serious voice.  
“However, there’s something important I need to tell you. Just, sit near my desk for now.”  
Niko was caught off guard by her serious tone. They nodded and walked out of the sitting area. They grabbed a nearby chair and moved it besides George’s desk, illuminating the top rail in the process. They sat quietly waiting to be addressed. Staring at their now covered palms, still questioning if any of this was real.

 

Five minutes passed before the lady emerged from the sitting area, a book in her hand. Upon further look, it appeared to be a journal. She sat in the desk and stared at Niko. Even without the proper facial parts, Niko could feel she was being dead serious at this point. Placing the journal on desk, she switched on the nearby lamp and began, “There’s a reason why your hands are doing that.” She opened the journal and began to flip through the pages.  
“The author told me along time ago that there was a lost prophecy about you and the future of the world. It is my duty to make sure you know what it is.” She stopped on a particular page.

On this page, showed an image of what looked like Niko except instead of their usual coat and scarf, they wore a small purple poncho with a symbol that resembled a lightbulb, a long sleeved violet shirt, grey pants and black boots that had buckles of gold. Their eyes were closed with a calm, serene expression. From their hands emitted light, this light however was more of a golden yellow rather than the bleak yellow that currently glowed through their mitts. It even appeared to be sparkling, it reminded them of the sun. They were surrounded by the weird squares they've constantly seen throughout the land. In golden text, the picture was titled “The Savior”.  
“Is that me?” Niko asked, their face filled with both shock and confusion. “Yes, it was illustrated by a close friend of the author and the prophet. I guess the prophet thought it was very important that their vision was documented along with a drawing.”  
Niko's eyes didn't leave the page, they never thought of themselves as such a high figure. 

“The prophecy goes like this, 'Once the light returns to our dim world, the savior will remain behind. The three pieces of the sun that helped them through their journey, will awake inside their body, resulting in them gaining great powers. With these powers, they will be able to protect world from a powerful force. They must venture to the areas where they found the three pieces in order to gain each power. After which the fourth power will be revealed in a forgotten land. The savior must work quickly, for an unknown force will harm this land along the way. Certain people cannot be trusted. The world's fate will be decided the day two entities are found in the tower.’ Do you understand?” She asked.

Their face told their answer clearly, pure confusion, “...........no..”  
“I thought so... basically the prophecy says you need to find all your powers in all the places you received the three pieces of the sun. You found the last one here, remember?”  
Niko then realized that George was the one who gave them the final piece, the die. “Oh yeah! I remember that, it was kinda weird getting a die from you cause y’know…”  
She let out a slight chuckle “What? Cause I'm a die person?”  
“Uh no no..I mean -”  
“I'm just kidding.” She joked. “But yes, I did give you the last piece, which means that piece must have finally awoken in you causing your hands to glow…”

They looked down at their hands, feeling a little better knowing what was happening was “normal”. “Is that why I cried in my dream?”  
George placed a finger under her “chin” and thought. “It is possible...you said there was a light before you woke up?”  
“Yes, well it was more of a flash….”  
“In theory, that flash may have been the third piece awakening inside of you...Of course, I could be wrong and it could have just been a mere coincidence.”

Niko then leant back in their chair, “I guess….” They let out a yawn, refraining from covering their mouth to avoid accidentally causing their mouth to glow. “Excuse me.”  
George closed the journal, “You should probably get some rest. You've learnt enough for today.”  
“What? No no I'm not-” they yawned again. “tired... excuse me..”  
She stood out of her seat and walked over to them. “C'mon, it's late. You can pick up where you left off tomorrow.”  
They tiredly got out of their seat and trudge towards the guest room.  
“Let me know if you need anything” she said as she guided them to the guest room.  
“Ok..” They opened the door. “G’night” they said as they closed the door.  
“Goodnight..” she then turned back and sat at her desk to finish her work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I had writers block for a couple of weeks...it was hard to write certain parts. I wanted someone to proofread it for me but I guess they're to busy... sorry if absolutely nothing makes sense in this one, as I said before this is headcanon heavy so if you don't like don't read... 
> 
>  
> 
> Anyway I've rambled long enough, leave a comment about my writing about what I can improve.. Thank you  
> Also heres a link to the picture in the journal: http://alicupcake12356.deviantart.com/art/The-Prophecy-Fake-Screenshot-671093252


	4. A New Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A new character approaches!*

Two days had passed since the events of that unusual night. Niko had learnt much about the world thanks to George. They now knew what truly caused the industrial age, all about the glen's agriculture, phosphor,its properties and what it can be used for, they even got lessons on basic words in that weird language with George's help. One thing they never truly understood was forgotten land, The Yonder. They honestly couldn't blame themselves, there was very little documented on the land. Whatever records they found would always come up with identical results. They were that most of the important diplomats and governors lived there, how the land was distant towards the other regions, and how an anomaly attack was what caused it to be removed from the map. Even when Niko asked George about the land, she only answered with, “I have heard about it before, but not much is known about it. All I know is those lazy diplomats live there and they're the reason why the other areas are so run down. The glen doesn't even have an education system for crying out loud!”

Whatever this area was, it probably wasn't important. Why else would there be little known about it?

Niko decided that they've learnt enough about the world, at least for now. Now they wanted to know more about the squares  
and if a solution to the problem existed at all.  
They picked out a few books from a nearby bookshelf, including the journal from earlier. By this time the glowing stopped. It seemed to appear when they were in distress. After they examined the books in hand, they walked over to George to bid her farewell. She currently was brewing her morning coffee.  
“Hey, I'm leaving now, I'm gonna check out these books.”  
“Oh, you're leaving already? Well it was nice having you over.” she said as she poured a cup for herself.  
“Thank you so much for your help.”  
“You're welcome! Hey, remember the prophecy, ok?”  
“Ok.” They then glanced at the cup in her hand then at her then back, “Uh...no offense, but how do you…..eat exactly…?”  
She then looked at them confused then looked down at her cup. She then winked at them saying “That's my little secret.”  
Niko couldn't help but smile at her, guess it's best they didn't know. 

They walked towards the door, waving to them. “Goodbye..”  
“Bye now, dear. Be safe.”  
“I will!” With that they closed the door to the archives.

It was only nine o'clock and the library was already filled with people. Familiar faces were in their usual spots, reading, researching, silently congregating or drinking their coffee. Niko walked towards the robot at the head desk, pulling out their library card in the process. They placed the books in front of the robot,. “I'd like to check out these books, please.”  
“Do you have a library card?”  
“Mhm..” They gave it their library card.  
After some facial recognition and processing, the robot took out it's stamp and stamped each book. Each stamped echoed loudly through the library, causing some heads to turn. A receipt printed out of its chest plate, they gave this to the child. “These books must be returned to the library in two weeks, after that, the fine is $30 a day.”  
Niko eyes widened in surprise, “That's kinda a lot…..”  
The robot's eyes narrowed, “Have the books back in two weeks….”  
“Uh ok, thank you…” they nervously said, picking up the stack.  
“Your welcome.” The robot said.  
Niko walked away with the books, looking at each one's cover. One of them was about the trading system of the three main regions, the other was about the yonder and barrens and the third was the journal that contained the prophecy. They exited the library and took in the bright day. It was odd the sun stayed in one place all day. Sighing, they began the brisk stroll back towards the elevator street, crossing the bridge as the city entered their view.  
They planned on going to the factory, talking to Kip. She was a very important researcher in the Refuge, and a close friend of theirs. In fact Kip helped Niko get their own apartment and even let them stay with her during the time they were homeless. First, they'd go home and put away the books, they were kind of heavy.  
Crossing the street, they walked down the busy sidewalk. They hoped that maybe the scientists found a solution to the squares problem. They were curious, it's been a week since they last talked to them. 

The sound of a square appearing and a large metal creaking snapped them out of their thoughts. They froze. A square appeared and hit a lamppost, causing it bend and crack. They moved their attention to the right, eyes widened. A child walked down the street, not paying attention to toppling lamppost. They were walking right in front of it. With a loud snap, the post fell. Niko dropped the books and ran at top speed. “Hey! Watch out!!”  
“Huh?” The child looked up in surprise.  
They jumped towards them pushing them out of the way, just in time. 

Crash!!

Niko lifted up their body and looked behind them. Glass and phosphor spilt across the street. Some shards were even dangerously close to the two. They looked down at the nearly injured child, “Are you ok?!”  
The child looked up in shocked, “Y-yeah...but you're kinda crushing me..” They instantly noticed their position and shot up on their feet. “Sorry!” They stretched their hand out to help the child, “I'm Niko…”  
The child gladly took their hand, “I’m Almane…” they rose up from their fall. “Sorry if I hurt you, the lamppost was falling and-” “It's ok, I should've been looking where I was going. Thank you..”  
“Your welcome.” They said 

Niko spent a moment to size up the child who upon further inspection, was only slightly shorter than themself. Almane’s hair was maroon, short and messy with hints of magenta flecked here and there. Their eyes were a vibrant red, accentuating their pale skin and the various cuts and bruises on every corner of their body- some more fresh than others as shown by the condition of the bandaids. A dark-red turtleneck sweater was hung over their body, dusty and almost itchy in appearance, with overalls that stopped barely above the knees with sewn-in patches on the pants. The soft pink of their socks were contrasted with the laced-up boots, brown, muddy, and stained. The kid was a complete mess.

“Your cheek's bleeding.” Almane said pointing to their own cheek to show exactly where. Niko felt their cheek and found indeed they were bleeding, “It's just a little cut..are you sure you're ok?”  
They nodded, “Once again thank you for saving me, savior.”  
Niko was taken aback at their response then remembered that they were a big deal among the people, it would make sense they knew about them, “You're quite calm for getting saved by the savior…”  
“I try to remember that you're no more or less than us, isn't that how you wanted to be treated..?”  
They thought, most of the time when it came to encounters with the public they would either be idolized or looked down upon. Very rarely did someone treat them like a normal person. “I guess..” 

They walked over to where they dropped their books, surprised that nobody had stepped on them. “Just try and be more careful next time..” they picked up the books.  
“I will.”  
There was a pause between the two. Passersby glanced at the accident then continued their stroll.  
Almane finally broke the silence, “This is none of my business but….where are you going?” Niko looked up ahead, the elevator was only a few blocks away. “I’m going home to put away some things, then I'm heading to the factory...why?”  
“Uh, well, I was wondering….. could I accompany you… ?” They nervously said.  
Niko was taken aback once again by this kid. They just met and in the weirdest way too. Why would they want to follow them? Did they admire them or something?  
“It's fine if you don't want me to…” they said as they began to step away. “No no it's fine...I guess extra company is fine.”  
Almane made a tiny smile as they walked up next to them and proceeded to follow them, “Thank you.”

They stopped at the elevator. “I won't be long.” Niko said as they entered elevator. “Ok.” They nodded as the watched the savior enter the elevator. 

Niko entered the elevator and returned with a bandaid on their cheek, noting that Almane has not budged from their spot.They both proceeded towards the factory. 

It was a long walk. Awkward silence filled the space between them. After a minute of nothing, Niko decided to start the conversation, “So uh I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new to the city?” “No, I live in the alleyways. I'm mostly out at night...I was heading to sector 8 before y’know..” they answered.  
That explained why they looked so roughed up and dirty. “Why are you out at night? That's kinda dangerous especially for your age.” they assumed they were about their age if not younger.  
“....I don't have my folks to take care of me anymore... nighttime’s the best time to find something to eat…...if I'm lucky..”  
Niko frowned, now feeling bad for them.  
“I'm sorry to hear……” “Eh, it's alright... could be worse.. there's this orphanage near the docks... terrible place..” 

Niko didn't even know the refuge had an orphanage much less a docks, well the docks made more sense. “Really? I didn't know that... what's it like…?”  
Almane looked at them in the face for once, “I heard they have beds made out of wheat bags and ram wool. You have to eat rations everyday, I heard it's made out of the matron's toenails and rancid milk.”  
They both made a disgusted face, “Eeew!” Niko exclaimed causing them to giggle in the process. “Yeah it's pretty gross. And they make you work hard labour. Glad they haven't found me ...yet..” they smiled at themself.  
Niko smiled as well, they started to warm up towards Almane. 

Another minute passed without a word. It was Almane's turn to speak, “What's it like?”  
Niko turned to them, face confused, “Hmm?”  
“You know being the savior and all..” they stated staring at their shoes. Niko didn't know how to answer that question. They felt normal but now hearing all these weird prophecies and powers, it was confusing honestly. “Well….I guess it's ok..it's weird at first, having all these weird responsibilities and being treated like a very important person and so suddenly too. But I've kinda gotten used to it..” Nothing was said for a few seconds until Almane only hummed in agreement.

The loud hum of generators filled their ears. The two had finally made it to the factory. Entering through the large doorway, they walked over to the security panel only to find it was disabled, the robot greeted them.

“Hello persons, what is your purpose coming to factory.”  
“Hi, we ,er, I am here to see Kip and check on the progress on the square situation, and Almane is accompanying me.” They gestured towards the other child. “Is she here?”  
“Miss Silverpoint is in the terminal section on the left.” It responded.  
“Oh, thank you.” Niko replied.  
“Your welcome.” The robot then stepped aside allowing the two to past.

They walked through the bridge-like corridor and made a left, entering the terminal room as they found the scientist monitoring the screens, most of them lit with updates on square appearances. Kip had been observing the terminal in the far left corner of the room, appearing very tired.

Walking over to the researcher, none of the scientists seem to notice nor care about the two. As soon as they approached her, Kip’s head nodded forward and fell right onto the keyboard- then she was out like a light. Both looked at each other in confusion, thinking what they should do. After a good minute, Niko approached her, slowly tapping on her shoulder, “Uh..Kip..?” 

A snore escaped from her lips, not loud enough to alert everyone that she’d been asleep in the first place, but not low enough to let Niko worry if she fell unconscious. Niko then tried shaking her, “Kip...wake up.”  
The researcher jolted up, nearly spilling her cup of coffee, “I'm not sleeping..!” She frantically looked around until her eyes fell on the saviour. “Niko..?” She let out a yawn, “What are you doing here..?”  
Niko stepped back, “I just thought I’d pay you a visit to see how everything's going..”  
She tiredly got out of her seat, “Oh, well that’s nice of you to do.” Her eyes caught sight of Almane’s presence. “Who’s this, Niko?”  
Niko walked over to Almane’s side, “This is Almane, Almane, this is Kip.” Kip crouched down to Almane’s eye level, holding out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you Almane.” Almane shyly shook her hand, “It’s nice to meet you too, Miss Silverpoint.”  
The researcher stood up chuckling to herself, “Oh please, Miss Silverpoint was my mother, just call me Kip.”  
“So how’s the squares situation going, anything new?” Niko butted in.  
“Actually, I have some good news! Follow me.” She then led the two into a different area of the factory. Walking down a long hallway, she stopped at a door. On it, it read: “CAUTION! Anomaly testing room. Enter at your own risk.” She opened the door to reveal a set of stairs.

They walked down and entered the testing the room. She switched on the lights to reveal a large generator, a control panel and a large glass dome. Near the control panel were two seats. She walked over and took a seat.  
“It took forever for us to realize, but after someone pointed it out and a bunch of testing, I think we’ve found a temporary solution to the problem.” She took out a key from her apron’s pocket and slid it into the keyhole on the control panel.  
Immediately the control panel lit up and the generator began to hum. She punched in a few numbers and turned a few dials. 

After a minute of nothing, a square appeared behind the glass dome.  
“The scientist theorized that the sun gives of a certain element that causes anomalies to decrease. What that element is? We haven’t figured out yet..However, after an hypothesis, someone theorized that phosphor might give of that same element.” She said after pushing a few more buttons.

“But if that's true, why did it still appear when everyone used phosphor the most?” Niko questioned.

“Ah, that’s because those phosphors contained the element weakly, in other words, it sort of helped but it wasn’t strong enough to ward off the squares. However after some tests with all four types of phosphors we’ve come to a conclusion.” She then pushed a bright yellow button. A loud buzz sounded. Behind the dome a hole in the wall opened, a large robotic arm holding a jar of yellow phosphor emerged from the hole. The arm extended slowly towards the anomaly.

Incredibly, the anomaly began to shred apart and shrunk back. Slowly the squares disappeared until nothing but the phosphor and arm remained. 

“Yellow phosphor seems to contain the element the strongest.” Kip concluded, pressing a red button to send the arm and phosphor back.  
“Amazing!” Niko exclaimed. Almane on the other hand let out a loud shudder, causing both to turn to them. 

“What’s the matter, isn’t this great? Now there’s a chance the world can actually be saved!” Niko asked the child.  
Upon seeing that they caused the saviour to be concerned, they quickly composed themselves. “It’s nothing, I just don’t like seeing anomalies..” They answered  
“You mean squares…?”  
“Yeah...those..” 

The researcher got up from her seat. “It’s alright, Almane. If this solution actually works you won’t have to see them anymore.” She walked over to the panel on a nearby wall and pressed a few buttons.  
“What do you mean ‘actually works’ isn’t it already working?” the saviour asked, confusion on their face.

She turned to them, her expression saddened, “Unfortunately, what you saw just now was computer simulated. It would be too dangerous to get an actual anomaly to appear, plus we don’t actually know how to get one to pop up when we want.”  
Niko looked at her even more confused. Even Almane didn’t understand.  
“That square wasn’t real, we can’t use a real one..” Kip explained.

Both children looked more clarified, finishing off with an “Oooooh!”  
“For now we only can guess that it can work. We tried to make the fake anomaly as closed to the real one as possible, still no guarantee it will work.” She stepped away from the panel. 

“Well you said it works with yellow phosphor right?” Niko asked.  
“Um, yes and things that emit yellow phosphor..”  
They thought, their powers were yellow and were even mistaken for yellow phosphor. Would it work on the fake anomaly?

“Ok, this is gonna sound crazy, but, would it work with me?”  
Kip stared at them in confusion, “What do you mean?”  
Niko held out their hands, “Look..” They then thrusted their hands downwards. Nothing happened. 

“Uh...give me second..” They tried again. Still nothing. They then proceeded to flash their hands up and down. Still nothing. “Oh come on! Now you don’t wanna work?”

Almane joined in at staring at them in pure confusion.  
Niko began clapping their hands in hopes it would work. Not even a spark. “It usually works when I do this..maybe if I got scared it would work..”  
Kip then cutted in, “What exactly are you trying to do..?”  
Niko looked up at them, “I’m trying to get my hands to glow again…” She then made a dumbfounded face, that didn’t quite answer her question.  
“I know it sounds stupid..but it really happened..It sometimes happens out of nowhere and-”

They felt someone grab their shoulders and scream. They jumped, yelling out in shock and terror, light blasting out of their hands, hitting the floor with a pow.  
They whipped around to see what startled them. Almane had somehow gotten behind them and managed to scare them, “Sorry, you said to scare you..”  
Niko calmed themself down, looking down at their hands to find the light glowing from their hands. “See? I told you.”,they showed the researcher their palms.

She bent down and examined their hands, disbelief washing over her. “How are you doing that?” she questioned, reaching out to touch them. Niko immediately pulled back their hands, “Don’t touch them! They light up whatever they touch. Takes like a day for the stuff to wear off...” “That’s ok, these aren’t the only pair of gloves I own.”  
They hesitated before finally giving her their hands. 

She examined their palms, gloves of course starting to light up in process. “This does look like it may contain some yellow phosphor. Would you mind if I did a test on you?”  
They thought, if it meant it could help the world one way or another they were all for it. “Not at all, go ahead!”  
“Great, follow me.” She then shutdown the generator and turned off the lights. All of them exited the testing room. 

They walked throughout the factory until they made it to another testing room. Kip switched on the lights. This testing room looked a lot like a doctor’s office, with monitors, a bed , various medical tools and even an X-ray machine.  
“Alright, Niko please sit on the bed.” Kip instructed. The child hopped onto the bed. Kip picked out a few tools out of the medical tray. 

“Alright, I'm just gonna do a quick check up on you, nothing unfamiliar for you.” She then took out an otoscope. “Widen your eyes.”  
The child did so, not that it seemed necessary considering their eyes were quite large already. The researcher shone the light through their eyes. “Say ‘Aaaah’.. ”  
Once again the child did as told, opening their mouth. Kip then used the otoscope to examine their throat. After which she took out her stethoscope and checked their heartbeat, instructing them to take deep breaths. 

“Ok Niko, you seem to be perfectly healthy, at least as far as I can tell. Alright now comes the hard part.” She proceeded to take out a syringe.  
Upon seeing the instrument, Niko’s body froze, eyes widened, “No! I take back what I said! If it means I have to do that then, no!!”  
She attempted to calm them down, “I know, I know but I have take a blood sample from you in order to do the test.” “I don’t care! I’m not doing it!!” 

She tried again, “It won’t be long, I’ll be done before you know it. Please Niko, there’s no other way.”  
The saviour thought, usually when they needed to get a shot their mother would be there to hold their hand. The thought nearly made them tear up but they refrained, not only was it embarrassing to suddenly burst into tears, they promised themselves to stay strong, for their mama.

Letting out a sigh, they complied. “....Ok, I’ll do it..” Kip gave a reassuring smile to them, she approached them and pulled up the sleeve of their coat. After some preparation, she readied the syringe, “Just close your eyes and relax..”  
Niko, although scared, did as told and relaxed themselves as best as they could. The sharp pain followed afterwards, they bit their lip, trying their best to not succumbed the pain. In a matter of seconds the needle left their body. Kip immediately put a band aid on the area. “There, all done. You can hop off the bed now.”

Niko did so, wiping away the small tears that formed in their eyes. Kip proceeded to put the syringe in a plastic bag and labeled it as ‘Test sample’. Niko approached the researcher, “So uh, what are the results?” She looked down on the child. “Hm? Oh, that was just the sample. We’ll use it to test your DNA to see if that glowing is yellow phosphor.” Niko’s face fell, they were expecting more. “Oh..” “I’ll of course inform you on the results afterwards but it's gonna take a while.”  
They nodded, “Ok..” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three stood outside the factory’s exit, Niko already had a rough enough day and was about to head home.  
“Thanks for informing me, er us Kip.”  
“Your welcome, I’ll make sure to tell you when we get the test results.”  
“Alright, thank you! Bye!” Niko began to depart. “Good bye Miss- I mean, Kip.” Almane waved as she followed along side the savior. “Bye!” she waved at them. 

The two walked far out until they crossed the bridge to the city, Niko noticed the child was still following them, they stopped. “Alright, why are you still following me?”  
Almane stopped alongside them, “Huh?”  
“I thought you just wanted to follow , finally Almane spoke me to the factory..”  
Their was a silence between them, they finally spoke up, “....I honestly wanted to see what your life was like, savior...I don’t really have anything better to do than wander around the city, get yelled at by street vendors for trying to take some food, so on so forth….I thought if I followed you I could find something new and interesting in my life….I’m sorry if I’m intruding..”  
Niko suddenly felt bad for this kid, everything about them seemed depressing. “Hey it’s ok, I was just wondering why you were following me...I didn’t mean to sound rude.” 

Almane looked up at them and smiled, “You weren’t being rude, I’d honestly question if some random stranger started following me.”  
“Still, I did sound kind of rude to just flat out question you like that.” The savior apologized.  
“It’s ok…...well it was nice meeting you, Niko..” they began to walk away.  
Niko was surprised when they began to leave, they tried to stop them, “Hey wait! Where are you going?”  
Almane turned to them, “Home..” they resumed their stroll.  
“....You want me to walk you home? It’s the least I could do..” They offered  
Almane once again stopped and turned to them, “..That won’t be necessary, Thank you anyway..”  
“I insist, it’s no trouble, really.” They insisted as the walked up to join them.  
Almane sighed, “Alright, come on..”

The two continued walking back to the city, not a word was said. Only the small mutter from the red child, “..You're not gonna like it…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I apologize for taking so long to put out this chapter. I'm probably gonna start taking a break from writing because I have to start focusing on other things. 
> 
> If you're wondering what Almane looks like, here:  
> http://alicupcake12356.deviantart.com/art/Almane-Reference-676226170
> 
> Yep I added an OC to this, I'm I kicked out off the fandom yet?  
> Special thanks again to Bunnysharks for proofreading and editing this (seriously go read her fics they're amazing).  
> Feel free to criticize and comment!
> 
>  
> 
> Niko gets a shot, I guess they had one  
> "shot".... ok I'm done now...


End file.
